Fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Meat

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the number of foodborne illnesses annually is approximately 76 million cases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. Of those, almost 14 million cases of foodborne illness, 60,854 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths are caused by known foodborne pathogens (Mead et al., 1999). The cost of human illness, medical expenses, and productivity losses associated with the six most dominant foodborne pathogenic bacteria has been estimated to be between $2.9 and $6.7 billion dollars per year (Buzby et al., 1996). For decades the meat industry has been the center of some of the most costly outbreaks in world history. Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been a major concern in the meat industry for decades and has increasing concerns with the development of new processing techniques. E. coli O157:H7 has been associated with food since 1982, but E. coli O157 is naturally found in the intestinal tract of cattle and in cattle feces (Rodrı́quez & McLandsborough, 2001). A cascade effect of E. coli O157:H7 can be seen during the slaughter and production process. E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of cattle can be transferred to the hide. The feces on the hide are transferred to the carcasses during the de-hiding process and from the carcass the knives and saws become a vector to transfer E. coli O157:H7 onto other cuts of meat. The contaminated cuts of meat are then ground and added to other animal’s cuts of meat. This is a possible cascade of events that can lead to massive amounts of ground products contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system and other quality programs have been established to reduce the risk of possible pathogenic contamination during manufacturing process. According to Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in 2007, E. coli O157:H7 was linked to 21 recalls